Mom’s Banana Apple Bread

Well, not my mom’s. I’m guessing Melissa Murphy’s mom’s, since it’s in her new cookbook The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. You know, I really don’t like bananas in their raw form (not even in smoothies), but once they are baked into something sweet, it’s a whole ‘nother story. R does like to have bananas in his cereal, but sometimes he buys more than he can eat. When that happens, I wrap them up and stash them in the freezer…after I’ve accumulated a few, it’s time for banana bread, cake or muffins!

What makes this particular banana bread extra-special are the bits of caramelized apple throughout. Most banana bread has a pretty good shelf life and can even get better after a day of so. This one is no exception, as the sweet apples just meld more into the spiced bread.

Before you start:Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour a 1 1/2-quart loaf pan.

To make the apples:Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and brown sugar and heat until bubbling. Add the apples and cinnamon and sauté until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To make the banana bread:
-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

-In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and vanilla.

-Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the orange juice mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each flour addition. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined. Then stir in the reserved apples.

-Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool further.

*Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The banana bread keeps well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Defrost (still wrapped) at room temperature.

We must be on the same brain wavelength because I had a huge craving for apple baked goods this morning… So i whipped up an easy apple nut muffin cake that reminds me of this recipe. Hopefully it looks as delicious as yours…

I found your site after drooling over all the entries in the Not Quite Nigella roundup. I may try lightening this with some applesauce in place of the butter. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Yours looks great!

Just made it but I added more fruit such as blueberries, raisins and raspberries and made a topping with banana, oats, brown sugar, granola and almonds. It’s so thick and moist! I didn’t peel the apples though; I need the fiber. It’s worth the wait-enjoy!

I made this last night and OH MY GOD it is amazing!!!!!! I used 3 large bananas though to up the flavor and made it in a spring form pan instead of a loaf pan — took about 75 minutes for mine to bake. I tasted the batter (licked the spoon! guilty!) and was afraid it would be too clove-y because the batter tasted a little strong but the flavor mellowed in the oven and it was PERFECT. I sprinkled a little brown sugar on top before baking and that gave the top crust a little something special.

It finished at 11pm last night and 12 hours later there is only a small wedge left. It was a huge hit.

I made these in muffin cases instead and added sultanas – they are DIVINE! My boyfriend and I devoured two each in five minutes so I don’t think they’ll be lasting too long! Definitely a keeper recipe…

this is the best recipe ever!! i just finished making 2 batches and they are divine!!!! i left the apples this time, but it still turned out so so good!! found your link from NQN.
this is now my go to banana bread recipe.

I have worked this recipe to change it to sugar free and it works. Change the brown sugar to br sugar splenda and cut the sugar from 1C to 2/3C Splenda. I also add a little extra soda and some dry milk powder (like the splenda bag says). It is my most popular recipe, everyone asks for it. I usually make 4x the recipe at a time ending up with 8 loaves -using the metal pans from the dollar store. They freeze beautifully.

I baked this banana bread for a teachers assistant appreciation morning tea. All I can say is YUMMY!!! This is such an easy recipe. Not a crumb left on the plate!!! This recipe is a keeper!it is so moist and I had no problems with it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.